Boot tree and last.



l PATBNTBD APR. 1v, 1906.

P. ZEISBBRGER & vv. SCOTT.

BOOT TREE AND LAST.

APPLwATIoH FILED rms. 2o. 1905.

FRANK ZEISBERGER AND WALTER SCOTT, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

BOOT TREE AND LAST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 17, 1906.

Application filed February 20, 1905. Serial No. 246.574.

To r1.1/ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK ZEISBERGER, waiter, and WALTER SCOTT, railway inspector, residing at 16 Fitzroy road, Primrose Hill, N. W., London, England, subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boot Trees and Lasts, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved last which may be adapted to boots and shoes of various shapes and sizes and which is capable of being collapsed and folded, so as to occupy only a small space. For this purpose the improved last is formed of any suitable elastic material, such as india-rubber, so arranged or adapted as to form a hollow chamber of any desired shape or size into which is forced air under pressure for the purpose of distending the same to the shape and size of the boot or shoe. In order to increase the strength of the said last and prevent the sides from being unduly forced or bulged outward by the internal pressure, the said sides may be formed artly of leather, celluloid, or other solid plia le material, or the last may be made of cloth or other pliable or elastic material and the sides thereof be drawn into close contact with each other and stitched together for a portion of their surfaces, so as to leave a s ace all round the last for the rece 'tion of t e pneumatic elastic chamber. T 's chamber when distended conforms to the shape of the boot or shoe and prevents any pressure on the sides where they are connected together.

The upper end of the last terminates in a plate or cover, which may be formed of wood or other solid material, to which is fitted a self-closing air-valve for filling the chamberby means of an air-pum or inflator, and the bottom of the last may e formed of canvas, leather, cardboard, paper, or other suitable inner and outer soles stitched or cemented to the body or sides and to each other. We also prefer to strengthen the said sole by providing an extra sole or plate, which may be of similar material and is 'bent over or curved downward at its edges to bear upon 5o the inner sole and form a space between it and the latter, and in order to clearly under stand our invention, reference is had to th accompanying sheet of drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvef last in its distended form. Fig. 2 is a vertl cal section thereof, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sec tion.

a is the bod of the last, which may b formed of clotii or other pliable or elasti material, and b is the inner or elastic air chamber. As shown in the drawings, thi chamber conforms to the shape of the boo when distended and is formed with an open ing or space c to permit of the sides of th body a being stitched together in contac with each other, as shown at d, Fig. 3, th stitching being indicated by thedotted line e in Fig. 1

f is the solid top of the last, to which i fitted the air-valve nipple g, and h h are re spectively the inner and outer soles secure to the body a..

i. is the extra sole or )late curved over a its edges to bear upon t e sole h and form space for the purpose of receiving the pres sure from the air-chamber b and increasin the strength of the sole.

A self-closing valve is fitted to the nippl g and air is pumped in through the same t the chamber b after the last is placed withi the boot until the said chamber is distende to the required de ee.

To remove the ast from the boot, the a is let out through the valve from the chan ber b, so that the latter may be collapsed an the last be readily withdrawn from the boo This last is especially a plicable for tl use of travelers, as when eflated it can l readily folded up and packed into a vel small space.

Having now fully described the nature i our said mvention, what we claim, and d sire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The improved boot tree or last consistir of the combination of a pliable body formii the same, a pneumatic elastic chamber i closed in a space in said body' formed l stitching together the central portion of t sides of the latter, an air-valve for inflati: the said chamber in the space so formed the shape and size of the boot or shoe, inner and outer soles, and an inner arch or hollow i sole or plate, placed between the elastic 1 chamber or body and the inner sole, for receiving the pressure caused by the inflation of the said chamber and for strengthening the outer sole, substantially as descrlbed.

In witness whereof we have hereu] our hands in the resence of two witne RANK ZEISBERG WALTER SCOTT. Witnesses 1 M. C. SMITH, ALBERT JOHN BOYCE. 

